If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

It has a completely new system, that's directly controlled by you with heavy slashes, rolls and light slashes combined with the signs that you cast in combat. I didn't mind the rhythm combat, but this is a lot better IMO, makes you feel in control. That said when it was released Geralt would sometimes feel a bit slow, not sure how much that's changed.

Noitu Love 2: Devolution. Played the first stage and I'm not too sure about it. So far it's simply been a case of holding the right arrow and clicking on things until they fell down dead. 2D side-scrolling Diablo? Not at all, but the constant clicking certainly didn't feel like exciting gameplay to me. Doesn't appear to be any different attacks - apart from the double-tap moves which are limited), and doesn't appear to be any meaningful combos, ways to juggle enemies or anything like that.
Shame though, 'cause the art style and animations are great (if you like that sort of thing).

For me the art style and inventiveness were more than enough to win me over. I agree that it's pretty easy and mindless to complete but it was a fun ride. Plus to be fair it did seem to be going for the style of being easy to complete but hard to complete with good scores/ratings (whatever it was it had). That's not so much my cup of milk so like you I found the ease of completion somewhat disappointing but for those who like to be the best they can at a game there is something extra to enjoy there. I thought it was worth buying if not spectacular.

I've owned Witcher 2 since it came out, but haven't ever actually gotten around to playing it. I wasn't a big fan of the rhythm game combat in the original, how's the new combat work?

Originally Posted by Woundedbum

It has a completely new system, that's directly controlled by you with heavy slashes, rolls and light slashes combined with the signs that you cast in combat. I didn't mind the rhythm combat, but this is a lot better IMO, makes you feel in control. That said when it was released Geralt would sometimes feel a bit slow, not sure how much that's changed.

Basically what Woundedbum said, but it feels... a lot slashier than it used to. I mean in TW1 you could take down groups of enemies fairly easily as you had the group style, but now a group of enemies is pretty lethal. I ran into a group of Nekkers and Drowners last night and barely survived.

I just prefer TW1's combat. I wouldn't say it was particularly better, but it was more forgiving and a lot smoother.

TW2 combat is more like the combat of Fable (Light Attack, Heavy Attack, Block and Dodge-roll), but a lot more 'serious' in various ways.
For example: Geralt can't change direction or roll away in an instant - the lad has some weight to him; getting hit from the flanks does a lot more damage (unless you take a skill on the sword tree) so multiple enemies are a massive threat early on; blocking consumes Vigor so can only be done a few times before you need to let Vigor regenerate (Vigor also powers your Signs).
In amongst all the rolling, blocking, slashing and... signing(?) you'll also be throwing grenades/bombs or perhaps trying to lead enemies over any traps you may have placed, so there's lots of things to do certainly. The hard part is remembering all these things when your health is at 50% and Nekkers are leaping at your face.

The skill path (Sword, Signs, Alchemy) you go down will also change your play style heavily, although only from about 1/2 way through Act 1 as I think it takes until about then to get enough skill points to have access to those trees. Up until then you have to put 6 points in the Witcher tree, which has useful, basic skills like more health/vigor.

It's certainly a lot more unforgiving, and in my opinion that's not a good thing.

Potions and enhancements make a big difference, but it's really annoying when the game puts you into areas where enemies stream almost constantly and you find it hard to find areas where you can safely meditate in order to prepare and drink potions.

It's not so much that, it's just drinking potions is almost necessary for even trivial fights. That and the ridiculous abundance of materials (I think at one point I had 70 Nekker teeth, 50 Nekker hearts, etc) is... bad.

Potions I'd only use if I thought a big fight was coming, or would pop a Swallow potion before leaving town as I knew there'd be stuff to kill and I had plenty to spare. I think it would be better if they were handled like they were in the first game though. Sometimes being truthful to lore isn't a good idea.
On Normal difficulty I found myself dying quite a lot until I realised how unforgiving the game was. It's annoyingly easy to let a small fight against a couple of Nekkers, for example, get bigger and bigger as more of the fuckers pop up from the ground. Geralt vs 2 is easy, vs 6 can be a nightmare if they surround you

It's one of those games where you need to realise there is no shame in dropping it to Easy difficulty. I did for my first playthrough, and had a great time going Sword tree where I barely died for the rest of the game. My second playthrough was on Normal going Sign tree and because I now knew how to play the game I probably died only a few more times than the first. I'd never go to higher difficulty though - as that way would lie massive frustration, masochism and internet dick-waving.

So, turns out AssRev is pretty much the worst of the AssCreed. The plot is paperthin (collect the 5 magical mcguffins to open the fabled mcguffin library... which contains something), the gameplay is still the same as the two previous games and the villains are uninteresting.
It's not bad but at this point it seems that I have already played it... twice. The bombs are a nice addition but there's just too much of them so most of the time I just use smoke and poison ones. The mediterranean defense minigame has now more depth but it still feels tacked on. I just don't give a fuck if the templars steal cupcakes in Lisbon, alright. I already conquered all the cities and it's still bothering me. Why? It's completely inconsequential.
Apropos templars. That's what bothers me most, really. In the very first game they have been presented as well-intentioned extremists and they have gradually turned into moustache-twirling clichees who are responsible for absolutely everything bad that ever happened. It starts to feel like that one scene from the Simpsons, with the republican headquarters.

Have to disagree with Althea about the Witcher 2. I think the combat in Assassins of Kings is so much better than the first. I couldn't even finish The Witcher 1, it just felt incredibly boring and not a challenge at all. I really like the Witcher 2 because almost every fight can turn deadly if you make the wrong move (at least in the beginning, the game gets much easier as you progress and gain more abilities/mutations). The only thing I dislike is the targeting system, because you can only damage the enemy you're targeting regardless of what your sword is actually hitting, until you level up and gain the ability to hit multiple enemies. Just felt really weird with their more hack n' slash type combat this time around. But yeah, I found it awesome because you really need to utilize all your skills to survive. Don't be afraid to roll away and wait for a better chance to go on the offensive. I do agree about the ridiculous about of crafting stuff though. The inventory management was really annoying, I just downloaded a mod that makes everything weigh nothing. :P

Still playing Krater, and it's still pretty fun but not nearly as deep as I'd hoped it would be. Each of your characters are stuck with basically the same two skills the whole game, so it just starts to get really repetitive. You can add boosters and implants to change their effects a little bit, but not nearly enough to keep them interesting. We'll see though, I still have a lot of the map to explore and I'm guessing a ways to go on the main quest. Also playing Alpha Centauri again with a friend, such an awesome game. Got Blitzkrieg in the mail, so I'll be playing that a good bit soon to hold me over until Company of Heroes 2 comes out.

Well he is a master swordsman, if you can be a master swordsman, and that's much more satisfying. It doesn't make sense to me why you'd want to play a game as Superman, you might as well just watch a cutscene of Geralt being a badass and end it there. No challenge just leads to boredom in my opinion.

I have never played The Witcher 2, but I hated the combat in the first (it put me off I stopped playing after 2 hours). But if Gerald is a master swordsman in the first by using the rhythm technique he would be boss at Guitar hero or Dance Dance Revolution.

Well he is a master swordsman, if you can be a master swordsman, and that's much more satisfying. It doesn't make sense to me why you'd want to play a game as Superman, you might as well just watch a cutscene of Geralt being a badass and end it there. No challenge just leads to boredom in my opinion.

I'm not saying that there should be no challenge, more that the challenge present in TW2 does not make sense.